Golf club



July 27, 1943- E. D. LUKENBILL GOLF CIJUB Filed Nov. 29, 1941 INVENTOR,f/VER) J. A (/Af/VB/L 1..

. to the longitudinal axis of the handle.

Patented July 27, 1943 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE V zlszaszs 1 b HGOLF cLUB may D. Lulrenbill, Indianapolis, Ind. Application November 29,1941, Serial Nb. 420,997

v scam (61.27347) This invention relates" to an adjustable golf club andmore especially a handle arrangement for the club, conveniently know asthe putter.

One chief object of the invention is to provide aputter with a handlethat permits the golfer to apply'his hands to the grip at the same leveland diametrically opposed with thepalms facing each other and the thumbsparallel on the an terior surface of the grip, so that the putter may beswung as by one big hand to increase the accuracy of puttingastodistance and direction.

Another object of the, invention is to provide a handle structure whichisof the aforesaid character and may be collapsed so that the same maybe grippedin the conventional mannerthat is, with one hand above theother, having reference Such a collapsible handle club when collapsed,permits the club to be readilyinserted into and removed from theconventional golf bag.

Another object of the invention is toprovide a plurality of adjustmentsso that the instructor or the golfer may adjust the club to the golferspersonal requirements. The club then may be used by the golfer for themass, weight, length of handle, inclination of striking face, et cetera,

all will have been determined. The golfer then Fig '7 is a view similarto Fig. 5 and of a modi fied form of the invention including a modifiedform of handle and shank connection as wellas modifiedwing arrangement.

One chief feature of the invention consists in providing EtIIBXtGIlSlblGand collapsible wing type handle structure for a golf club as will bemore fully pointed out hereinafter.

Another feature of the invention consists in the various adjustmentsother than the aforesaid, which also may be incorporated, if and when desired, for the accomplishment 'offthe last men'- tioned object.

Other'objectsand features of theinvention will beset forth-more fullyhereinafter V -,The full nature of the inventionflwill be undera stoodfrom the accompanying drawing and the following description and claims:

sitely directed clamping screws. I8. .40

fully collapsed or conventional handle position.

thereof, parts being broken away.

' Fig. 8 isa top planview of the form of the invention shown in Fig. '7with the wing parts shown in the collapsed position-and the entirehandle positioned at to that shown in Fig. '7

as it were, having a socket. portion I! with a bore I2 therein. Thissocketportion includes a clamping screw ;l 3 for clamping the handle,stem I 4 at the .proper elevation to obtain the'de'sired length ofhandle for the club. The lower end of the shank 10 includes therethrougha slot i5. An arcuate strap !6 is slidable in said slot and a clampingscrew 11 coaiiialavith the portion H) j rigidly clamps the yoke 56 inadjusted position.

Each end'of the'yoke I5 is apertured and ex tending therethrough is theretaining andclampingscrewl8. i

The' club head proper is a hollow body I!) having a triking face 28 andopposite ends. 2| are apertured to receive the, screws 58 so that theinclination of the face 20 with reference to the plane including theyoke can be adjusted and maintained by said screws I 8. It will be quiteapparentjthe axis of the shank portion Ill always intersects the axis.of the two aligned but oppo- The'; body portion [9 is hollow, as stated,see Fig.2, and therein there is'included a sufficient amount ofweightmaterial in the folrnof shot, or the like,

' ZI; .icc'x'eiss to said hollow body portion i9 is ob screw 2 3.'- o Itwill be understood from the preceding description, the length of the.club handle may be tained throughthe opening 2; clc-sed'by the capadjusted by the telescopic arrangement, existing between portions I0vand I4 and that the general inclination of .thehead]with reference tothe portion 10 may beadpisted by adjusting the positionof thejyoke 15 ofthe head and the striking faceinclination of the club be adiustodthrough the screwslfi while the mass is adjusted by the addition orremoval of shot to the head body portion. 1 The resulting club structureso far described a'ccordingly,,is capable of universal adjustability andhence, is completely adjustable to any individuaFs requirements.

The telescopic handle portion 14.111 Fig. 1 is shown mountingimmediately above the shoulder 24 thereof, the two interfitting portions25 and 26. In spaced relation thereto and at the free end of the portionI4 and retained by the head 21, are the similar portions 28' and 29. Theportions 26 and 29 at their outer ends pivotally sup port thequadrant-like gripping portion 30, the

same being secured to the portions 26 and 2-9 Portion 30 is one wingmenu-- by the pivots 3|. her.

The two portions 25 and 26 have an interfitting tongue and groovearrangement, as it. were, indicated by the numeral 32, and the members28 and 29 have a similar interfitting arrangement wingmembertl ispivotally connected through the interfitting tongue and groove;connecthin, 38 with the member ZEi andat the lower end while the upperend of said wing member 3.! with similar tongue and. groovearranger-nentt ispivotally connected as at 40 to the member 2 It will beunderstood each oilthe wing mem bets 3%! and 31. are suitablyrecessedasat ti and 62' so that when the wing members 31 am ss arecollapsed inwardly toward each of the axes including the pivot members,the parts mayassume the position as shown in Fig. 3. This is thepartially collapsed position. When the 'partially collapsedconstructions are further collapsed to' ward each other in directionsopposite to that of the initial collapse, asv shown in Fig. 3,. the re.-

sulting structure see Fig. 4=is a compact hand grip portion so that theclub then may be gripped-- in. the, conventional manner, and readilyinserted into and removed froma golf bag,

When the parts are positioned as. shown in Fig.

3,, it will be apparent that the two hands may be positioned side byside at opposite sides. of the handle wi'th the finger tipsapproximatelytouching and with the thumbs extending downwardly along the grip andsubstantially side by side and in parallel. When the parts arepositioned, as shown'in Fig. 1, it will be noted the thumbs engage thefront portion of the wing members 31 and 30 and. the finger tips may be.curled around The club shown in Figs. 5 and 6 may have itswingscollapsed and in that event, the inside face IS'Ia and the inside faceIfifia partially embrace the hinge construction and the rearward facesI392) and [31b substantially abut and when same and seat in theresulting groove'arrangement between these two wing members and. be-' ashank or handle rod. provided with a collarfl25 pinned as at IZda andfurther providedwith a retaining cap I27.v The two wings. are indicatedby the numerals I38 and I3! and herein there are provided plate portionsindicated by numerals I25 and I26 for wings I31 and I33, respectively,

: and integral therewithas shown in Fig. 5..., Each of these wingportions is of the. interfitting indicated at I32. as at I33 and theshaft I I4 extends therethrough.

V The portions I32 constitutean gular extensions of the portions I25 andI26, said angular ex"- .tensions beingindicated by the numerals I23 andWhen the wings are extended to the position all . tongue and groove orconventional hinge type, as

The portions I32 are apertured so positioned, naturally the angularportions I29 and IE8 form a front face of the handle while the previousvfront faces new form side faces thereof, and the side faces of thehandle when in extendedposition now combined form the rear face; Whenthus collapsed, the handle may be readily inserted into andydrawnriromthe golf bag. When thus collapsed, the handle may be gripped in theconventional manner, that is,

'with one hand above the other, or in other words,

" may be. in longitudinal alignment inof in parallel. I v I ItwilI'beunderstood, of course, with reference to, the preceding forms of, theinvention as well as the 0th rs subsequently to be described, thatcertain 7 tion locks, et cetera, may be provided 'to'retain e'respective parts in the collapsed or extended 'or semi-extendedpositions, the parts being readily movable when intentionally subjectedto sufficient force for movement.

Reference now will be had toFigs. 'l and. 8. In this form of theinvention there'is illustrated the socket portion 2 having therectangular socket recess or aperture 212* The rod. portion 254' has acorresponding cross sectionoutline so as to be receivable by socket.2J2. It is retained on said socket b the clamp screw H3, The rod 25carries the diverging portions 225 and 226 and these may constitute aflat plate-like arrangement ormay constitute upper and lower bars, asdesired," I

Suiice to say' the outer ends. include pivots 23I and 2453; andthesepivots. pivotally support the e'longated' wing members 25.? and 2%,respectively. When extended, the paritsare positioned ,7. Whencollapsed-the as illustrated in Fig' parts are illustrated as in Fig. 8

In view of the. fact the overall frontal width of the collapsed handleis considerably greater than that shown in Fig .4-.,or that which is ob-I tained-with thehandle shown in Figs/5 and 6,

whenever the golfer desires to grip the. collapsed andle shown n Fig.18'with .thei conventional ov a ping or superposed; hand grip, the entirehandle structure is removed fromthe socket H2 Reference now will bev hadto Figs. 9 and 10. This 1"- orm of the invention constitutes anattachment form. It is, in one sensaiquite similar shown in Fig. 5,there is provided a groove be tween the hinge portion ofeach wing andthe straight body portion I37 thereof and also. be

tween the hinge portion and the body portion'I3Il thereof; These twofinger receiving grooves pro to the invention shown in Figs. 7 and 8that there are two wing portions, each hingedly .iounted upon axesparallel to but slightly spaced supporting shaft.

Various methods of detachably mounting a handle structure of thisgeneral character upon a conventional handle of a club may be utilized.

apart and upon opposite sides of the axisof the That selected forillustration purposes only is one that is comparatively simple, willrigidly secure the handle attachment to the conventional club handle andwin rigidly secure the same thereto without serious deformation ormodification of the conventional handle.

In Figs. 9 and I0, the numeral 3 indicates the shank portion having thehead 321 and there is provided the handle portion 300 of conventionalcharacter. Herein a base plate 3M is provided at opposite edges withalternate tongue and groove formation 332 and herein the two wings 33land 338 have their portions 325 and 326 terminating in complementarytongue and groove formations 328 and 329, respectively. The hinge axesare indicated by the numerals 340 and 33L Adjacent the opposite ends ofthe resulting handle structure and integral with or rigidly se- 3. Aclub as defined by claim 1, characterized by the hand engageableportions including angular extensions terminating in interfittinghinge-like portions, said handle portions extending pintle fashionthrough the interfitting hinge-like portions, the rear faces of the handengageable portions when collapsed being capable of abutting, theangular end portions simultaneously forming a front face forconventional gripping purposes.

4. A club as defined by claim 1, characterized by the addition of meansextending oppositely from the handle portion and pivotally supporting atthe free ends the said hand engageable portions, the latter each beingrotatable toward the other for collapsed positioning.

5. A club as defined by claim 1, characterized by the addition of meansextending opposet screws 352 of the two rings are backed out and therings are applied to the handle and when the base portion of thestructure is properly aligned and properly positioned on theconventional handle, the set screws. 352 are.

threaded inwardly to clamp the rings rigidly in position on theconventional handle of the golf club. I

In that manner the base Bill is rigid with the club and since thesamehingedly supports at 33! and 34!! the wings 330 and 331 by means of theportion 329 and 328, riveted thereto as at 329a and 328a, the two wingsare properly secured to the handle of the golf club and are adapted tobe extended into wing formation for gripping as illustrated in Fig. 10,or for collapse as shown by the full lines in Fig. 9 for conventionalsuperposed handle gripping or for insertion into or withdrawal from thegolf bag. The dotted lines in Fig. 9 indicate the extended wingposition.

It will be also observedthat the confronting faces of the two winpQrtions when collapsed are recessed to accommodate the adjustable setscrews so that when the wings are collapsed, all

the anchoring'and like'portions are substantially concealed within thewings.

While the invention has been illustrated and hand engageable, portionsparallel thereto and pivotally supported by the handle for movementtoward and away from the latter, said hand engageable portions whenextended providing a finger receiving rearward opening.

2. A club as defined by claim 1, characterized by the hand engageableportions including angular extensions terminating in interfittinghinge-like portions, said handle portions extending pintle fashionthrough the interfitting hinge-like portions.

sitely from the handle portion and pivotally supporting at the free endsthe said hand engageable portions, the latter each being rotatabletoward the other for collapsed positioning, said means comprisingdivergingly arranged portions pivotally connected at adjacent ends toeach other and the handle portion and collapsible towards each other byrotation in directions opposite that of the rotation of the hand gripportions toward each other upon said means.

6. A club as defined by claim 1, characterized by the addition of meansextending oppo- -7. A handle structure for a club including a shaftportion, a pair of wings each pivoted on an axis having the same generaldirection as the shaft axis, said wings being pivotally collapsibletowards each other forshaft portion envelopment, and oppositely tiltablefor extension into diverging relation, each wing including a bodyportion formed and arranged for thumb front facial contact and palmengagement of the wing free edge, and finger rear facial contact, thefingers of both hands being nestable in the resulting rearward openingsformed between the shaft portion and the free edges of the wings whenthe latter are extended, the thumbs having the same general directionrelative to each other and the shaft portion and at opposite sides ofthe shaft portion.

8. In a golf club, the combination with a head supporting. shaft, a pairof elongated engageable wing portions of appreciable width, and

means pivotally supporting the wing portions for movement in divergingextended position, the wing portions when so positioned providing fortwo-hand parallel gripping and when collapsed providing for handsubstantial envelopment of the shaft for superposed parallel gripping ortandem gripping as desired.

EMERY D. LUKENBILL.

